Meliksetian | Briggs gallery is currently hosting a compelling exhibition titled Who Am I?, What Am I?, Where Am I?, showcasing a series of photographic works by Aura Rosenberg, a New York and Berlin-based artist. This ongoing project, Who Am I? What Am I? Where Am I?, delves into the realm of collaborative portraiture, specifically focusing on children as subjects. This exhibition prompts viewers to consider, in essence, Where Am I Where in the context of identity formation and artistic collaboration.
This unique series involves contributions from over eighty artists, highlighting the diverse approaches to portraiture and identity. For this particular exhibition, Rosenberg has curated five striking images from her extensive collection. These selections represent collaborations with renowned artists such as John Baldessari, Mike Kelley, Sam Lewitt, Laurie Simmons, and Christopher Williams. Presented as large-scale prints, these works command attention and invite deeper contemplation.
The genesis of Who Am I? What Am I? Where Am I? can be traced back to a simple yet insightful experience in Berlin. Rosenberg, bringing face paints to her daughter’s kindergarten, witnessed the children’s faces transformed by their teacher’s artistry. Capturing these moments photographically and exhibiting them at the Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, Rosenberg recognized the inherent artistic potential in what might be considered a common children’s activity. This initial exploration led her to question the perceived hierarchy of artistic mediums, wondering if inviting established artists to engage in face painting on children would challenge preconceived notions about “debased” forms of painting. However, the project naturally expanded as Rosenberg acknowledged, “of course, not everyone wanted to use paint and so the series became more diverse overall,” reflecting the distinct practices of each collaborating artist. Consequently, each piece in Who Am I? What Am I? Where Am I? becomes a rich tapestry woven from the interactions between the child, the invited artist, and Rosenberg herself.
Nicolás Guagnini, an artist, writer, and collaborator, offers a compelling interpretation of Rosenberg’s work, suggesting that she “is flirting with with a taboo: transgression in the family with our children…people instrumentalized by images: totem and taboo.” This perspective underscores the provocative nature of the project, hinting at themes of societal norms, childhood innocence, and the power dynamics inherent in image-making. The breadth of artists involved in Who Am I? What Am I? Where Am I? further emphasizes the series’ significance within contemporary art discourse, including notable names like Dan Graham, Lawrence Weiner, Haim Steinbach, Lyle Ashton Harris, Louise Lawler, John Miller, Jim Shaw, and Marilyn Minter, among numerous others.
For this exhibition at Meliksetian | Briggs, Rosenberg re-contextualizes Who Am I? What Am I? Where Am I? through a dramatic shift in scale. Inspired by artist curator Valentin Rothmaler’s suggestion to display the photographs as banners in a church in Lübeck, Germany in 2014, Rosenberg embraced a larger-than-life presentation. This alteration in scale elevates the portraits, transforming them into more imposing and “iconic” representations, demanding a different kind of engagement from the viewer and further emphasizing the question of where am i where within these magnified identities.
Aura Rosenberg’s artistic endeavors extend beyond this exhibition, with her work featured in several group exhibitions this autumn, including Sylvia Bataille at JOAN, Los Angeles, MOMMY at the Yale Union, Portland, Go Play with the Giant at the Villa Stuck, Munich, and the School of Kyiv / Kiev Biennial, Kiev, Ukraine. Her work has also been recently showcased at prestigious institutions such as Casino Luxembourg, Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Le Magasin; Centre D’art Contemporain, Grenoble, France, KW/Kunst-Werke, Berlin, Institute of Contemporary Art/ ICA, Philadelphia, Julia Stoschek Collection, Düsseldorf, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt, and the Swiss Institute, New York.
For those seeking a deeper understanding of the project, a monograph dedicated to Who Am I? What Am I? Where Am I? is available, published by Hatje Cantz. This publication offers further insight into the conceptual underpinnings and artistic process behind this compelling series, allowing audiences to further explore the questions of identity and collaboration posed by Rosenberg’s thought-provoking work and contemplate their own answer to where am i where.
